Contents

Biography

Floyd “Money” Mayweather is without question the best and most talented fighter in boxing today. He displays an unprecedented mix of speed, power and natural instinct every time he steps into the ring – a combination that has translated to 43 wins without a loss, 26 knockouts and eight world championships in five weight classes. The future Hall of Famer’s list of accomplishments and accolades is endless and continues to grow each time he adds a win to his impressive record.

This year alone, he was named Forbes’ highest paid athlete in all of sports, unseating Tiger Woods for the first time since 2001. He also topped Sports Illustrated’s list of the 50 highest paid American athletes beating out the other top five athletes on the list including Phil Michelson, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in that order. In July, he became a four-time ESPY Award winner as fans once again voted for him as the Best Fighter in the world.

“I love my life and am grateful for having the talent and dedication to make my dreams come true both with my boxing career and with my life in general,” said Mayweather, who is a father of four beautiful children and a generous supporter of many charities throughout the Las Vegas community where he currently resides. “I knew when I was a young man I wanted to be a great fighter. But it is only through the hours of hard work that I have put into my career and my dedication to the sport, that I have been able to accomplish these goals. I encourage everyone to follow their dreams and work hard to achieve them.”

Mayweather’s past recognitions throughout his impressive career have also included the Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year, as well as awards from Ring Magazine and BET (Black Entertainment Television) for the same feat.

In addition to his athletic ability and business acumen, Mayweather has been ahead of the curve with regard to his social media presence. He is certainly tech savvy. His Twitter account, @floydmayweather, is well on its way to acquiring four million followers, placing him in the top 200 most-followed accounts on Twitter. Mayweather utilized the social media platform to announce his two most recent fights between Miguel Cotto and Victor Ortiz, making him and his opponent trend worldwide. Additionally, his Facebook page has nearly two million fans and acquires thousands of “Likes” with every post. His latest foray into the world of social media is his Instagram account which has acquired hundreds of thousands of followers in its infancy.

Mayweather also dominated the world’s top search engine Google as his name ruled sports searches during the month of May (when he fought Miguel Cotto). The super fight accounted for three of the United States’ top 10 trending sports-related queries on Google. Each of these queries trended higher than searches for any NBA player or team during the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

Perhaps Mayweather’s most crowning achievement in recent years is his role in instituting Olympic-style drug testing in boxing. He was the first fighter to require blood testing administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in order to face him in the ring (which began in 2010 when he fought Sugar Shane Mosley). Mayweather is now seen as a trailblazer in the campaign to make the ring an even playing field. In 2012 alone, more than five boxers have tested positive for steroids who may not have been caught had it not been for the fighter’s foresight and desire to clean up the sport.

In his most recent bout which took place on May 5, 2012, he defeated renowned champion Miguel Cotto for the Super Welterweight World Championship. Not only did Mayweather prove his genius in the ring with a near shut out of the tough Puerto Rican warrior, but he proved once again that he is the pay-per-view king, bringing in 1.5 million buys, totaling $94 million. This made Mayweather vs. Cotto the second highest grossing non-heavyweight fight in history.

Mayweather’s fight against Cotto was not his only big pay day as of late. On September 17, 2011 he faced the hard-hitting then-WBC Welterweight World Champion Victor Ortiz. The bout, which ended in a fourth-round knockout, once again showed the sports world why Mayweather is an astute master of the game and the sport’s biggest draw. With 1.25 million buys, Mayweather vs. Ortiz was added to the undefeated star’s list of amazing pay-per-view performances.

Prior to the Ortiz bout, Mayweather fought Sugar Shane Mosley on May 1, 2010. He performed brilliantly and dominated Mosley en route to a shut-out unanimous decision victory. The fight was purchased by 1.4 million homes generating $78.3 million in revenue and earned Mayweather $40 million. In the 36 minute-long fight, “Money” earned approximately $1.1 million per minute and his performance summoned scores of celebrities and sports stars including A-listers Muhammad Ali, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael J. Fox, Paris Hilton and Jamie Foxx who were among the ringside observers.

Mayweather has also become a crossover star, appearing in the Emmy award winning HBO reality series “24/7” five times. With each appearance, he provided cameras with an all access look at his training and personal life. Not a stranger to media requests and national television, Mayweather has appeared in commercials for AT&T and ESPN, competed on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars in 2007, hosted WWE’s Monday Night Raw, and appeared on WWE WrestleMania XXIV in 2008. These opportunities, as well as the countless others such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and Men’s Fitness and visits to Conan, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis & Kelly and E! Channel’s Chelsea Lately, demonstrates his impact across the sports and mainstream media spectrum as one of the most talked about athletes in the world.

“My career is very important to me and as long as I have the desire and ability to be at top of the boxing charts, I will continue my legacy by competing in the ring,” said Mayweather. “My goal has always been to be one of the best fighters who ever lived, but I also want to be a successful businessman, thinking outside of just the boxing ring and touching as many people as possible while my career is at its peak.”

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mayweather was born into a boxing family. His father, Floyd Sr., was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard, and his uncles, Roger and Jeff, were also pro fighters, with Roger – Floyd’s current trainer – winning two world championships during his prime.

Fitted with boxing gloves while he was still a toddler, Floyd started boxing competitively at the age of seven and his acumen for the game was obvious from the start. He would go on to compile an 84-6 amateur record while earning three Michigan Golden Gloves titles, three National Golden Gloves titles, PAL and National Championships and an Olympic Bronze medal in the 1996 Games.

Turning pro in the super featherweight division on October 11, 1996, Mayweather blitzed Roberto Apodaca in just two rounds…his journey to greatness was underway. After one more win in 1996, Mayweather went 10-0 with 9 knockouts in 1997 and added five more wins to his ledger in the first half of 1998. Fight fans were chomping at the bit to see the ultra-talented Mayweather in with the elite at 130 pounds, and on October 3, 1998, they got their chance when the 21-year old faced off against the late Genaro Hernandez for ‘Chicanito’s WBC world championship.

The highly anticipated fight was no contest, as Mayweather battered the veteran with blinding combinations, pitching a near shutout before the fight was stopped after the eighth round. Floyd Mayweather was a World Champion.

As any great champion will tell you, winning a title is one thing, defending it is another, and Mayweather, despite his natural physical gifts, showed his desire for greatness by outworking his opponents in the gym and gaining a reputation as one of the hardest workers in the sport.

This work ethic paid off as Mayweather defended his super featherweight title eight times from 1998 to 2001, defeating Angel Manfredy (TKO2), Carlos Rios (W12), Justin Juuko (KO9), Carlos Gerena (TKO7), Gregorio Vargas (W12), Diego Corrales (TKO10), Carlos Hernandez (W12) and Jesus Chavez (TKO9). Corrales, Hernandez and Chavez would all go on to win world titles after their one-sided losses to Mayweather.

With the 130 pound weight class cleaned out, Mayweather sought new challenges at 135 pounds, and he got it in his WBC lightweight championship fight against Mexico’s tough Jose Luis Castillo on April 20, 2002. After 12 hard-fought rounds, Mayweather had won his second world crown. Fight fans clamored for a rematch and Floyd answered their call in his very next fight less than eight months later, repeating with a 12 round decision win over Castillo. He went on to defend the lightweight title twice more, over Victoriano Sosa (W12) and Phillip N’dou (TKO7) before testing the waters at 140 pounds.

In the junior welterweight division, Mayweather immediately made his presence known with a dominating 12 round decision win over former World Champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley on May 22, 2004. After an eighth round stoppage of Henry Bruseles to kick off 2005, Mayweather made his debut as a pay-per-view headliner on June 25, 2005, when he walked through the rugged Arturo Gatti, stopping him in just six rounds to win the WBC 140-pound championship.

Mayweather didn’t spend much time at junior welterweight, as he immediately jumped up to the welterweight division to take on the best in yet another weight class. Floyd kicked off his 147-pound campaign with a sixth round TKO of former World Champion Sharmba Mitchell on November 19, 2005, and on April 8, 2006, he would face former friend Zab Judah in a highly-anticipated grudge match that saw Mayweather cruise to an easy 12 round decision win to earn the IBF welterweight title. Not satisfied with just one belt, Mayweather finished off a stellar 2006 campaign with a 12 round near-shutout over Carlos Baldomir to add the WBC welterweight crown to his trophy case.

After Baldomir, Mayweather rose to superstar status with his aforementioned highly-decorated year in 2007. Immediately following his historic year, he stunned the entire sports world in June of 2008 when he announced that he was retiring from boxing after competing in the sport for nearly 20 years. During his hiatus from the sport, Mayweather found much needed rest by spending the majority of his time with his family while regaining his lost spirit and love for the sport, allowing him to comeback better than ever.

“My goal has always been to be one of the best fighters who ever lived, but I am only willing to do that if I am physically and mentally prepared every time I step in the ring,” Mayweather said. “The break from the sport was good for me, but I returned to boxing to fight the best, and that’s what I intend to do.”

In 2007, Mayweather had his true coming out party, shattering every boxing (and in some Oscar de la Hoya, which broke the cases sports) earning record in the book, including his must-see May 5 mega-fight against all-time live gate and pay-per-view earnings numbers. His victory over the Golden Boy earned Mayweather a whopping $25 million from his share of the revenue generated from the 2.4 million households that purchased the fight (a gross of over $120 million).

Later that year on December 8, Mayweather fought the popular and undefeated British World Champion Ricky Hatton, scoring a 10th round knockout and again earning over $25 million. Mayweather collected over $14,500 per second for his less than 28 minutes of work.

After a 21-month lay-off from the ring, Mayweather returned on September 19, 2009 and thoroughly out-boxed one of his quickest opponents in Juan Manuel Marquez, earning a unanimous decision victory, generating 1.1 million pay-per-view buys translating to nearly $60 million in revenue.

In Mayweather’s last six bouts, he generated nearly $600 million in revenue combined; delivering over eight million pay-per-view buys, making him the one of the highest grossing pay-per-view attractions in the history of the sport. In the nearly 190 minutes it took Mayweather to defeat De La Hoya, Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Ortiz and Cotto, he earned over $220 million, securing his place on top earner lists across the board.

Mayweather’s goal to live a rich, full life outside the ring is just as important as success in the ring. He is actively involved with the lives of his four beautiful children Kouran 12, Iyanna 11, Zion 10, and Jirah 8 and regularly visits with his other family members who live near him in Las Vegas.

As the owner of the Mayweather Boxing Club, the eight-time champion has a gym to call home and invites young future champions to train and learn from him and his uncle and trainer-for-life Roger Mayweather. A point of pride for the Mayweathers, the Las Vegas gym has become a go-to training facility for up and coming fighters ready to make their own mark in the sport.

His charities endeavors do not go unnoticed either. Mayweather regularly supports the homeless in Las Vegas, frequently showing up himself to distribute sandwiches and water. Recently he made generous donations to Susan G. Komen Las Vegas Chapter, Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas and Three Square Food Bank, all reflecting his generosity and efforts to give back to those less fortunate and in need. Additionally, he donated significant funds to Las Vegas charter school Rainbow Dreams Academy, which focuses on the “at risk” and underserved population.

Mayweather is the Director of The Floyd Mayweather Jr. Foundation which was founded in 2007 with the goals of empowering and encouraging community alliances, impacting youth leadership and strengthening family foundations in the Las Vegas community.

“My desire to give is as strong as my desire to win,” Mayweather said. “I know how important it is to help those who are less fortunate than me. I hope if I continue to work as hard outside of the ring as I do inside of it, I can inspire others to do the same and help out in their communities as well.”